Stone Lantern Inside the West Gate, Naju

This stone lantern originally stood in Seomunan, Naju-eup, South Jeolla Province. It was moved to Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1929 and later relocated to the National Museum of Korea, where it remained in storage. After being dismantled and conserved in 2017, it is now on display at the National Naju Museum. The lantern is centred on a firebox (hwasaseok) that holds the light, set on a three-tiered base below and topped with a roof stone and finial above. It stands on a wide, square platform stone. The lower base stone is octagonal and carved with lotus patterns. The pillar-shaped middle base has eight sides, each framed to form a panel, with a line of inscription carved within each. The upper base stone is carved all around its eight sides with lotus patterns, and the firebox, which is a modern replacement, has four windows. The roof stone is highly decorative: each of its eight sides bears vertical grooves as if a short curtain hung from the eaves, and above them sit thickly carved flower ornaments resembling blossoms just opening. Above the roof stone is a stone shaped like a miniature roof, and the lotus-bud-shaped stone at the very top was newly made when the lantern was relocated and re-erected. An inscription carved on the base records that the lantern was erected in the tenth year of King Seonjong of Goryeo (1093). Although the carving of each part is somewhat heavy-handed, the decorative craftsmanship of the roof stone makes this an unusual work of the Goryeo period; it inherits the style of Unified Silla octagonal stone lanterns while showing superior structure and carving.

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Where it is

Region

Naju, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물